Israel already occupies the Gaza Strip, but the Israeli government is refusing to allow for a change in regime of the Strip, IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Israel Ziv said Wednesday in an interview with 103FM.
Ziv, a former head of the IDF's Operations Directorate, expressed his frustration with how Israel is carrying out its operations in Gaza.
"The [Gaza] Strip is already occupied," he said. "It's been occupied several times over. We occupied every place four or five times by now... We created the conditions for a change of government there after a military operation. To drain the swamp, not chase after mosquitoes. I've never heard of a victorious army that chases down every last terrorist or weapon there. At this point, it's not a military operation. It's politics without military logic."
He continued, "We went to war to create the conditions to make changes there, and those conditions have been created. Hamas does not control the Strip. It's in hiding. It isn't fighting; it doesn't have the means to put up resistance. Its entire military and government systems have been completely dismantled."
Who should rule Gaza after Hamas?
According to Ziv, there are two possible options for who should run Gaza after Hamas.
"The first option is the Palestinian Authority, which would be Hamas's biggest defeat," he said. "The second option is the Egyptian plan for a technocratic government for the next five years. The Egyptians are ready to help in establishing it and with training non-Hamas police officers."
But he noted that should the situation call for it, the IDF could intervene.
"Let's say Hamas is rebuilding somewhere," he said. "Then we go in and take them out."